13-year-old threatens victim with machete during Pride Month in Washington, D.C.
On Sunday, June 13, the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, D.C. reported that their detectives arrested a 13-year-old and charged him with Assault with a Dangerous Weapon – that weapon being a machete. The youngster is a resident from Northwest, D.C. The assault went down on Saturday, June 12, at 520 Florida Avenue, Northwest, which is very close to Shaw’s Tavern.
Around 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, the teen suspect, brandishing a machete, approached his victim and threatened to stab him. The machete-wielding suspect then made derogatory comments towards the victim and fled the scene.
The Washington Post reported the victim as telling police that the teen was stabbing cicadas that were on the ground and that the teen was flicking the cicadas at him. “I’ll silence you,” the victim said he was told – as the machete was being waved by the teen. Fortunately, no-one was injured during the incident.
The interaction between the suspect and his victim was captured on a surveillance camera in the area. Detectives are investigating the incident as a possible hate crime.
The incident occurred while Pride Month celebrations were taking place across the city. ~ WUSA9
The police said that their designation of a possible hate crime could change as their investigation moves forward.
One of the owners of Shaw’s Tavern shared the following statement with WUSA9:
“We are incredibly concerned in regards to the incident that occurred Saturday afternoon. MPD has reached out to me personally to discuss the matter and we appreciate their willingness to address the ongoing influx of crime in the neighborhood and their proactive communication with local businesses. But it’s clear this is not a problem that can be solved by MPD alone— we need more action from top to bottom. Unfortunately, a majority of the recent incidents have involved minors, some as young as 12 years old. Over the past several months, we have been in communication with fellow business owners, our ANC, MPD, council members, the Mayor’s office, and youth outreach coordinators in hopes of collectively addressing the instances of crime.
Clearly, we’re failing given the frightening nature of this incident, which occurred in broad daylight with thousands of people out celebrating Pride weekend. Shaw’s Tavern is proud to be a gathering place where all people are welcome and celebrated. We firmly condemn any and all acts of hate, including this most recent incident in our neighborhood. We were unable to get the information of the victim yesterday, but would appreciate getting in touch with them to check-in and see how they’re doing.”
For more on the story, see the video accompanying this article.
(Source: Metropolitan Police Department)
Posted by Richard Webster, Ace News Today / Follow Richard on Facebook and Twitter
